


Safe Haven

by dralexreid



Series: Dr Piper Bishop [57]
Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-31
Updated: 2020-12-31
Packaged: 2021-03-11 05:22:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,295
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28439799
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dralexreid/pseuds/dralexreid
Relationships: Dr Spencer Reid/Dr Piper Bishop
Series: Dr Piper Bishop [57]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1972852
Kudos: 15





	1. Chapter 1

"Last night, all 4 members of the Bennett family were killed in their home in Council Bluffs, Iowa," Penelope started their briefing, surveying her family seated at the table. Hotch was seated the closest, wearing his signature white button-down paired with a red tie and suit jacket. "Jake and Sandra Bennett were the parents of Sammy, 11, and Kayla, 9."

"Agent Beeks in the Omaha Field Office called me. The previous night, the other family, the Archers, were killed just across the state line in Nebraska. He thinks it's the same offender."

"So, he's a mobile offender," Emily noted. "If he's going from Nebraska to Iowa, there's gotta be some record of it."

"The M. O. is consistent. Both mothers died due to severe blunt-force trauma, and the fathers suffered multiple stab wounds."

"The children were all strangled," Rossi posed. "Violence only in the kids' rooms, but no sexual abuse on any of the children. What does that say about our unsub?"

"Well, strangling the kids is a mercy kill. Maybe he thinks he's doing the kids a favour," Piper suggested. "His own family probably mirrors theirs too so he might have a sibling. He's more violent towards the father than the mother which could mean a personal vendetta against his own father." It was moments like these where Hotch appreciated Gideon's taste in profilers.

"Yeah, well, must be a hell of a grudge because the Bennett father was not just stabbed, he was also... And those pictures are in your personal files because I didn't think they needed the help of 1080p," Penelope said, faking nonchalance.

"His chest was opened, organs disturbed, intestines removed," Rossi supplied for Garcia.

"And this is why Thanksgiving dinners suck at my place," Piper murmured, flipping through the file.

"The father of the Archer family had multiple stab wounds but no dissection," Spencer pointed out, suppressing a smile.

"So he went from piquerism to this overnight?" Emily asked.

"2 families in 2 days. He's on a spree."

"Wheels up in 30," Aaron dismissed them, wanting to get to Iowa as soon as possible.

"So why does Thanksgiving suck?" Spencer asked, not sure if he really did want to know.

"Dan's a criminal lawyer, so he sees bodies all the time. Lucy's starting to explore horror movies in film school. Plus seeing stuff like this every day. The mood becomes morbid very quickly. Also not a big fan of turkey," she said, making Spencer laugh as they started to follow Hotch, turning as Emily called out for Derek. The four of them sidled up to the window, revealing Ellie Spicer waiting on the ground floor.

* * *

Piper closed the door to JJ's office behind her, Derek and Ellie and perched on the table as Ellie was seated comfortably on a sofa. "Ellie, how did you get past airport security?"

"I stayed real close to this family," Ellie said in a small voice. "Nobody asked. If they had, I would have said I was 12, 'cause you can fly by yourself."

"This is not all right," Derek said. "You can't just run away like this."

"But that house is awful. This older boy tries to watch me in the shower," she said, a tear slipping down her cheek as Garcia bustled in.

"Hey. It's way early in L.A. I left a message with Child Protective Services, but I haven't heard-"

"You can't send me back there," she interrupted, looking between the trio of adults.

"Ellie, you're a missing kid. We have to let them know you're safe," Derek said.

"I didn't know where else to go," Ellie whispered.

"I know. Listen, this is one of my very good friends, Penelope. She's going to look after you while I'm gone."

"Hi, honey," Penelope said, waving.

"Ellie, I'll come back as soon as I can."

"Come on, Ellie," Garcia said, softly but cheerfully and Ellie rose to her feet, letting Penelope guide her outside. "Have you ever been in a lair before? You'll like it." Derek rubbed his hand over his head as Piper watched them leave.

"What do I do here, Pipes?" She rubbed a hand over Derek's back slowly.

"I don't know," she confessed. "But you'll figure it out." He took in a deep breath.

"Yeah, I know. We have a job to do."

"That's not what I meant," Piper said placidly. "You just need time. You'll know what to do when it comes down to it." Derek nodded and Piper offered him a sad smile and together, they left for the jet.

Emily and Spencer stood near the coffee machine as they boarded. Piper took a seat next to Rossi while Derek sat down in front of Hotch as the jet took to the sky and Hotch went through each photograph. Derek updated Hotch on the Ellie situation, promising to fix it as soon as possible. "Check this out," Rossi started. "No forced entry at either house. Both dinner tables are set for 5 people, not 4."

"Maybe they knew him and invited him to dinner," Derek suggested

"Or he had a ruse," Piper said. "He looked innocent and vulnerable enough for them to feel safe around."

"If a random stranger showed up to your house and asked to sit in for dinner, would you let him?" Hotch asked.

"Maybe if he said he was in danger and wanted protection," Piper countered and Rossi shrugged.

"Both families live in different states but only 8 miles apart," Spencer pointed out. "Is it possible they knew each other?"

"Garcia, did you find any overlap between the Bennett and Archer families?"

_"Zip. They didn't work, shop, eat, or worship in any of the same places."_

"Worship? Both families religious?"

_"And then some. Pretty much all their social lives revolved around some kind of church activities."_

"Maybe he forced the families to make dinner as part of a ritual, like Karl Arnold," Emily suggested, leaning on her elbows on the top of Derek's seat.

"The Fox was a classic family annihilator who targeted patriarchs."

"The dissection of the last dad makes me think the unsub was focused on male parents as well."

"I'm not so sure," Rossi countered. "There's a lot of overkill on the mothers."

"But there's a different meaning to each parent," Piper said, holding up pictures of the victims. "He bludgeons the mother but dissects the father. One's rational anger, the other's completely irrational. His rage is sociopathic," she thought aloud. "The more personal the victim, the crueller he gets. He doesn't get the same satisfaction from hurting the mother as he does the father."

"All right, when we land, Morgan, Prentiss, and I will go get set up at the field office with Agent Beeks," Aaron directed. "Dave, Bishop and Reid drive to Council Bluffs while the crime scene's still fresh."


	2. Chapter 2

Piper and David followed Spencer upstairs to the children's bedroom where the massacre happened. The bodies had gone to the M.E's office, the remnants of blood in the rug and chalk outlines for their bodies. "Family annihilators tend to kill the children first," Spencer started. "It makes the parents suffer the most." Piper surveyed the scene methodically.

"Maybe that wasn't the only reason," Dave suggested, glancing at Piper to start by the steps.

"Really?"

"It helps the picture." Piper sighed, moving down to set the scene. "Mom comes up to say that dinner is ready." Piper made her way up the steps again

"First thing she sees is the children. She runs to them." She walked over to the bed, kneeling before turning around.

"She opens up her back to attack," she said slowly as Reid made the motion of hitting her with something. "He uses the children as bait," she said, rising to her feet. "Your turn."

"The father arrives next," Spencer said, as Rossi walked over. "He runs to the family just as the mother did. The unsub repeats the attack."

"It worked the first time," Rossi supplied.

"It's a risky plan," Spencer protested. "The unsub needs 10 or 15 minutes alone with the children to tie them up." The trio moved back downstairs, walking towards the kitchen.

"Table set for 5," Rossi pointed out casually.

"They were gonna have tacos," Spencer said, lifting the taco holder.

"Smart. Kids love tacos," Piper pointed out.

"The red pot has meat, the small pot has some kind of tofu mix," Rossi said, slightly turned off by the idea of tofu.

"Families typically share meal preferences," Piper said. "Either all of them are vegetarian or none of them and it's easier to switch from non-vegetarian to vegetarian. It usually isn't until the teenage years that kids go from non-vegetarian to vegetarian." Rossi turned around to look at her confusedly.

"Is one of your PhDs in food trends within families?" Piper shook her head miserably.

"I had to read a very poorly written dissertation on it," she explained, her face traumatised. "The research was fine, it was just the eloquence that killed it."

"Now, if a psychopath was forcing you to cook dinner, would you take the time to make vegetarian sides?"

"He obviously didn't force Sandra to make dinner," Spencer pointed out. "He's too disorganized to bring a gun. All the other items he used on the families came from within the house. Kitchen knives, jump ropes, belts."

"She trusted him," Piper realised. "Which explains how he managed to tie the kids up, she must have left him alone with the kids."

Meanwhile, Emily helped Hotch put up photos while Derek checked in with Penelope as Agent Beeks approached them with the medical examiner's report. Beeks reported that Jake Bennet died less than a minute after being stabbed multiple times and that all dissection was done postmortem

"If it was done postmortem, it was probably done out of curiosity and not torture," Hotch mused. "Is there any indication of medical training?"

"Apparently, it's just the opposite," Emily said, glancing through the report. "The cuts were crude. No more advanced than dissecting a frog. Sandra Bennett died slowly, in a lot of pain, just like Monica Archer," she said, gesturing at the photos. "The wives suffer the most, physically and psychologically."

"So what does that get us?" Beeks asked. "This guy hates his mother?"

"It means that everything he did, he did to hurt Sandra and Monica."

"He's targeting women," Hotch said.

* * *

Derek paced outside the workspace in the field office, waiting for Garcia to pick up. "Hey, how's she doing?"

_"Sleeping. Which, I get the impression, she has not done in many weeks. There are 6 kids living in that foster house."_

"Well, what did the family say?"

"They didn't know she was missing," Penelope said and Derek thanked her before slipping the cell into his pocket as Piper, Spencer and David approached. While Reid and Rossi moved in to update Hotch, Piper lingered outside with Derek.

"What's going on?"

"Her foster family doesn't even know she's missing. I don't know what to do, Piper," he confessed. Piper looked at his helpless position.

"Look, I may have some contacts in Child Services," she offered. "They might be able to pull some strings, have her taken to a different family." She still looked uneasy about the idea.

"But?" he prompted her.

"Derek, I have talked to dozens of kids in the system. It's not going to be perfect and I can't guarantee she'll be any safer." Derek nodded and Piper rubbed his shoulder sympathetically.

"Maybe you were right," he scoffed. "Maybe I should just adopt her at this point."

"She does trust you," Piper said. "But you shouldn't do it unless you are completely ready and committed to the idea." Derek rubbed his neck. "You ready to work?"

"Yeah. Yeah, let's go."


	3. Chapter 3

"Sandra was a sixth-grade teacher, she ran a church program for adult literacy and volunteered at a local soup kitchen," Emily summed up from her file.

"Monica Archer was a nurse at Northern Omaha Medical, and she worked pro-bono with disabled veterans at the V.A," Derek added.

"Maybe he posed as a victim, asked for their help," Beeks suggested.

"It's likely these women would help a stranger but doubtful that they'd let him upstairs," Hotch dismissed respectfully. He was always good at that.

"It could be another volunteer," Spencer suggested.

"If they met him doing charity work, he could seem trustworthy," Dave added.

"Okay, so, we'll look into volunteers who worked with both Monica Archer and Sandra Bennett, but even so, neither of these women would have left their children with someone they didn't know well," Emily pointed out.

"Unless he was religious," Piper said slowly. "Maybe someone who regularly volunteered at their places of worship," Piper suggested.

"That takes commitment," Rossi countered.

"It's unlikely that it's a stranger," Spencer appeased. "But we haven't found a single person that _knew_ both families."

"Great. So we have a disorganized killer on a spree who appears perfectly stable," Emily said, a hint of bitterness in her tone.

"People trust him on sight," Rossi said.

"And he has absolute confidence that no one will guess what he is," Hotch finished. "Start looking through volunteers, look for any connection. Prentiss, Morgan and I will take the Archers. You three take the Barretts."

* * *

Piper suppressed a yawn as she kept working late into the night. The team had filed out as the hours ticked by to midnight and Piper's notepad was full of scribbles as she worked on her bed. She'd given up on the volunteers, trying to predict the next victims instead. Garcia had taught her the basics of retrieving background checks on her operating systems and Piper had compiled a list of women that matched the victimology. "But why not just attack the women?" she whispered to herself. Her first theory had been wrong. The unsub didn't have paternal issues. Piper sighed deeply, thinking about stimuli. "Curiosity killed the fathers, strangled the children and made the mother watch it all. Maybe abused by the mom," she thought aloud, rubbing her eyes when she heard the faint sound of a knock against her hotel door. She pulled out her gun from the holster, broaching the door slowly. She glanced through the peephole and let out a laugh before opening the door to reveal her boyfriend, eyes wide and lit up by a cupcake with a candle poked in. "Happy birthday," he said, smiling. She swung the door wider, letting him into the room. He'd had a fresh shower, she noted, from the fruity smell of citrus.

"How'd you know I'd be awake?" Piper said, narrowing her eyes at him as she closed the door.

"I knew the case would keep you up," he answered easily.

"Well, thank you," she said before blowing out the candle. "But I'm not sharing," she grinned. Spencer dramatically pretended to have a heart attack until Piper pulled him by his tie to capture his lips. It was just meant to be a quick kiss but he wasn't one to give up. He pressed her waist to his, using his free hand to cup her jaw. She pulled at his lip, grazing it with her teeth until she pulled away, pressing her forehead flush against his.

"Make a wish?"

"I already have everything I want right here."

"You're such a romantic," he said, smiling against her lips as her eyes fluttered open.

"I remember you said that Christianity dismissed birthday celebrations as pagan rituals," she said, pulling away to admire the cupcake.

"It's true. It was believed that evil spirits visited people on their birthdays and that, to protect the person whose birthday it was from evil, people must surround the individual and make them merry."

"Is Dr Reid going to protect me from the evil spirits?" Piper joked, extracting the candle from the cake.

"Without a doubt," he answered easily, taking a seat as Piper unwrapped the cupcake and grabbed her switchblade. "That can't be sanitary."

"It's fine, I clean it every night," she waved him off, slicing through the cupcake easily, dividing it in two. Spencer grabbed one and attempted to feed it to Piper, only succeeding in painting the tip of her nose brown, making her break out into a fit of giggles.

"Come here," he said, attempting to wipe it off with a napkin except she'd leaned in to kiss him, leaving traces of chocolate on his face. "Right. Should've seen that coming because my girlfriend is 8," Spencer grumbled, wiping at her face before cleaning his own. Piper was licking off her fingers, having devoured the last of her half, grinning until his hands lunged, tickling her sides.

"No, no, no, stop, stop, I'm sorry, please just stop," she squealed until he gave up. They collapsed onto the bed and Piper cuddled into his side, breathing hard, falling asleep to the steady rhythm of his circling hand on her back.

* * *

Spencer woke at his usual time, later than Piper, finding a note left on the table. He was getting sick of people leaving him notes. 

> Thank you for the birthday! Getting breakfast with Emily.
> 
> Love you!

He sighed, knowing better to get between his girlfriend and her best friend. Grabbing his bag, he slipped out of the hotel room and into his to change before meeting Rossi. Another victim had been found and the duo was forced to drive out to the middle of nowhere. They stopped by a large field next to the highway where local officers were standing and another SUV was parked up ahead. Reid and Rossi exited the vehicle, surveying the scene below to find two familiar frames, one bent over examining the car, the other being Agent Beeks. "He dissected the victim's arm postmortem," Beeks called out. "I think it's our guy."

"Just one victim?" Rossi asked.

"Yeah. He's in the passenger seat." As they made their way down the curbside hill, the other figure rose to her feet.

"Hell of a birthday," Piper scoffed.

"Who is he?" Rossi asked.

"Louis Hannum. 41 years old, well-known local Reverend. He closed the church after a canned food drive at 6 pm, told the other volunteers he was taking the donations to the Salvation Army 3 miles northeast on Route 6."

"Did he leave with anyone?" Spencer asked.

"No, they said he left alone," Beeks supplied. "We're still getting names of everyone who was there."

"Before now, he's attacked families in their homes," Spencer said. "Now just one victim on the side of the road? It doesn't-it doesn't really fit his victimology."

"Unless the priority isn't the family," Piper said. "Each of our victims let this unsub into their homes, or vehicle in this case. It's weird, but it's like he's punishing them for trusting him. That's a very warped psychopathology."

"No, you're right," Rossi said. "The women and the reverend were all pillars of the community. Bystanding, honest members of society."

"It looks like he stabbed the Reverend while he was driving and then the truck crashed down here, he pushed him over, tried to drive away, but the truck was stuck," Beeks announced, moving past Piper to gesture at the scene.

"His rage was so blinding, he takes out the driver while in motion. He's lucky he didn't crash into oncoming traffic," David added.

"Then he immediately calms down and dissects the victim's arm?" Spencer asked and Piper's face paled at the implications on the profile.

"Yeah, he's incapable of thinking 5 minutes ahead," Beeks said. "It's like he's got A.D.D."

"We're dealing with a minor," Piper sighed, running a hand through her hair. "Developing psychopathology, impulsivity, over-the-top violence, mood swings, we've got a budding psychopath on our hands."

"Young adults are inherently non-threatening," Spencer said, squinting because of the sun.

"Parents would allow him to be alone with their children because he's the same age," Rossi continued.

"If he's prepubescent, it would also explain why there's no sexual experimentation on the victims," Piper noted.

"You guys can't be serious."

"Think about it. He opens up human bodies out of curiosity, the same way I used to open up radios and tv sets when I was 13. C'mon, I'm gonna tell Hotch and we can start to deliver the profile."

Piper squinted at Rossi as he walked up the hill. "How long ago was that? 40 years ago?"

"Irrelevant," he yelled, wading through the hilly grass as Piper snickered behind him, helping Spencer up with his dodgy knee.

"You get shot once in the kneecap and all of a sudden you can't hike anymore," Spencer grumbled.

"Good thing you're not a hiker then," Piper smiled as she got into the SUV.

"You're lucky it's your birthday, Pipes."

* * *

"This kid is streetwise but clearly comfortable and easily accepted in a middle-class suburban home," Derek started, gesturing at the gruesome wall of photos behind him.

"We can't diagnose anyone under the age of 18 as antisocial, so we are labelling this unsub a budding psychopath," Piper continued.

"His interpersonal skills are through the roof," Emily explained. "This manipulation isn't just a ruse. It's a complex con."

"Look for reports of missing children in and around the city of Omaha," Hotch directed. "This is where his killing spree originated."

"And check juvenile detention centres and psychiatric programs for boys who've been recently released or escaped," Spencer added.

"We believe he's crossed the state line into Iowa," Rossi said. "His last victim was travelling northeast on Route 6."

"All the victims give him rides and places to stay," Emily announced. "He appears extremely vulnerable. Being a child alone out on the road, that's not hard to do." With the briefing over, the team started splitting off to work on their own leads. Piper and Emily started going through recent releases from juvenile detention centres and psychiatric programs. Rossi and Hotch set to work going through kids reported missing from schools and homes in Iowa while Spencer and Derek asked Penelope to broaden her search. Emily looked up from her file as Piper answered a call.

"Yeah, this is Dr Bishop," she said, excusing herself as she went to find Derek. "Yes, her name is Ellie Spicer," she said loudly, trying to catch Derek's attention. "No, her foster family didn't even know she was missing...Okay, and what are the chances of her getting transferred to Virginia's Services? No, that's perfect, thank you so much, Liam. No, we're so even," she said with a laugh. "Yep, bye." She flipped the cell shut, grinning at Derek.

"Good news?" he prompted.

"The best news. So, my little friend in CPS talked to his boss and he said that as soon as she crossed state lines, it became a federal case Which is why it's okay that she remains in federal custody." Derek made to speak but she interrupted him. "Bah, bah, bup. Listen. The Federal Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act pretty much defines this as neglect. It's in her best interest that she be removed immediately," Piper said with glee and Derek sighed with relief. "This means you can still keep an eye on her and whether or not she's safe. Also, there aren't as many terrible foster families in Virginia."

"How do you know that?"

"I've read a lot of really bad dissertations in my time," Piper laughed. "But this is good right?"

"This is amazing and I love you and happy, happy birthday, Piper. You are the absolute best." Derek said happily, wrapping his arms around Piper.

"Do not let Penelope or Spencer hear you say that," she warned him with a laugh as he released her. "They're both very possessive over you." She pointed behind Derek to reveal Spencer glaring daggers at Derek.

"I can see that."

"Now go, do your job," she said, pushing playfully before turning to find Emily. They worked for a solid hour, crossing off names until Morgan yelled for the ladies to reconvene in their workspace.

"We think he might have been in the foster system," Spencer announced and Beeks narrowed his eyes.

"I thought you said he's from suburbia."

"He grew up in medium socioeconomic status, but his rage against families tells us that he experienced extreme abuse or neglect, so, at some point, he was most likely removed from his family. Now, I had Garcia widen the search of missing children to those in foster homes and juvenile care facilities, all represented by these 10 black dots."

"10 kids fit our profile. That's great," Emily said, slightly relieved but Piper sensed a catch.

"Actually, each dot represents a thousand currently in the system."

"10,000 children?" Emily exclaimed.

"Nebraska's one of the nation's highest per capita state ward populations," Piper sighed sadly.

"Using the age and the gender of our suspect, I was able to whittle down the search, and that yielded this interesting pattern."

"A pattern of red dots," Beeks sighed dramatically. "Give me one more hint." Piper shared a look with Emily, asking if she could hit him. Emily very clearly signed 'no'.

"The red dots represent 33 boys between the age of 10 and 17 who became wards of the state this year, all abandoned at major hospitals."

"The state safe haven law," Piper realised.

"Wait a minute. I thought the safe haven law was so that women could leave unwanted babies in hospitals instead of leaving them in dumpsters," Emily reasoned."

"That's true but the law never specified an age limit," Derek added.

"He's right," Beeks said. "The law now just covers infants, but we still get teenagers left at hospitals with a note pinned to their jacket. Some are even driven in from out of state."

"Monica worked at a hospital," Piper recalled.

"Yeah, Northern Omaha Medical. If the unsub's parents abandoned him there, it's probably where they met."

"So what happens here when a child is abandoned?" Emily asked.

"The hospital contacts social services. The Act of Abandonment immediately labels the parents unfit and the child becomes a ward of the state," Derek relayed.

"So he goes into foster care," Emily asked.

"Ideally, but most parents won't take older children," Piper said, drawing from her experience. "In which case, he'd be sent to a juvenile facility."

"The same one that house delinquents?" Derek asked.

"Yeah," Piper sighed, rubbing her neck.

"Did Northern Omaha Medical register an adolescent boy as a ward of the state on that day?" Emily asked.

"Garcia said no, but she's still looking," Derek told them.

"If Monica wanted to keep him out of a facility, she might have gone around protocol," Piper suggested. "We should check their house again, see if she had a plan." Spencer nodded and Piper updated Hotch as to where the duo were headed.

* * *

The sun had set hours ago and Spencer unlocked the Archer residence, letting Piper in first. "So we know that Mrs Archer chose to take the suspect home instead of taking him so social services like she should have, we need to try to figure out why."

"Because the system sucks, Spencer," Piper grumbled. "Good families don't take in foster kids and each foster kid they take in gets them tax benefits. It's why Ellie's foster parents didn't even report her missing. They'd be declared unfit parents."

"Maybe she called in favours with social workers or knew some foster parents that could take him in," Spencer suggested, going through the photographs again.

"They've got messages," Piper said, confused. "Beeks said he checked them already."

"Must be new," he reasoned and Piper pressed play.

> This is Brittany at Dr. Olsen's office. Eric missed his 9 A. M. Please call to reschedule.  
>   
> BEEP!
> 
> Hi. Hello. My name is Nancy Riverton, and your son Jeremy missed his bus at the rest stop on Route 6. He's fine. He's safe. Don't worry. He's with me. But if you could just give me a call... 

"That's not right," Piper said, narrowing her eyes. "There weren't any survivors."

"Jeremy must be the guy we're looking for," Spencer rationalised as Piper rang up Garcia. He followed her lead, dialling Hotch's number.

"Hey, sweetheart. I need a background and address for one Nancy Riverton. Thanks," Piper said. Spencer hung up, slipping his cell into his pocket as Piper did the same. "She's texting everyone the address."

"He's sending Morgan and Prentiss there now." She glanced at her GPS on her PDA. "Hotch wants us at the field office.

"Please don't drive like a grandma," she pleaded.

"Don't be a backseat driver then," he retorted as the couple rushed to the SUV outside.

Meanwhile, Derek kicked down the door, letting Emily start clearing the house floor by floor. Derek led the way upstairs following the sounds of muffled whimpering. Emily kept her gun raised as Derek holstered his, starting to release both kids as dawn broke over. "He left with my mom," the older kid started as soon as the gag fell off. "He's got a knife."

"He woke us up in the middle of the night. He said it was a game," the little girl shrieked. "You've got to find them." She buried herself into Derek's arms and he couldn't help wondering how he kept getting into these situations.


	4. Chapter 4

"Where's your dad?" Emily asked the kid, Zack.

"He died when I was little."

"I'm sorry."

"Do you know where he took our mom?"

"Not yet. But there are a whole lot of people looking for her right now. Did this boy tell you his name, where he lives, goes to school?"

"He said he was going to his aunt's house in Chicago. But he lives in Omaha. He said his name is Jeremy." Prentiss nodded and Zack glanced over at his sister who was seated with Derek.

"It's okay," he assured Amber. "Take your time. I just want you to try and tell me about this game."

"It wasn't a game," she said with attitude. "He just wanted to scare my mom."

"When your mom saw you tied up on the floor, what did she do?"

"It was weird," Amber said. "She told him he didn't do anything wrong. All this stuff about how he's a good kid and just made a mistake. Why would she say that after what he did to us?"

"Amber, it sounds like your mom understood how dangerous Jeremy is, and she needed to get him out of the house."

"It's like she made him a deal or something. She said she'd drive him anywhere he wants to go."

"And what was his answer?"

"He said he wanted to go home." Derek glanced over at Emily and she nodded, letting him step away so he could let Hotch know what they'd found out.

* * *

Hotch, Spencer, David and Piper stood around the receiving end of the phone with Agent Beeks, listening to Garcia's update. _"Monica Archer called a friend at the Northern Omaha children's hospital about an abandoned 13-year-old boy. Monica was going to bring him in the next day."_

"We need to talk to that friend," Hotch said.

_"Oh, no, I already did that. Apparently, the children's hospital and child services have a strong rapport."_

"Did she get a name?"

_"Yeah. She said the child's name was Niko Bellic, and his hometown was Newton, Iowa."_

"Say that again-" Beeks asked. "Niko Bellic?

"See, the thing about that is that-"

"Nico Bellic is the name of the main character in Grand Theft Auto IV." The phone went silent and Spencer looked to Rossi, then to Piper who was also staring at Rossi, then to Hotch who had glanced at the seasoned profiler. "What? I know things," he directed at Reid and he abruptly turned back to his map, Piper struggling to stifle a laugh.

"Guys, he's headed due east on Route 6. It passes right through Newton."

"He probably didn't expect the question and gave away his real hometown," Piper reasoned.

"Garcia, call the Iowa State Police, tell them to be on the lookout for a minivan headed east towards Route 6."

_"Will do. Listen to this. 2, 200 families in Newton have kids under the age of 18. In other words, a lot."  
_

"He would have acted out long before now," Hotch said.

"He's got a juvie record, he's well known to truant officers, and he's probably been kicked out of school, maybe several," Spencer added.

"We thought he was running away, but he's heading home," Hotch added.

"Guys," Piper announced, turning away from the map. "He started in Omaha and he's hitchhiking his way down to Newton. If his mother was the one who abandoned him, he's ready to kill her."

 _"Taking his rage out on surrogate mothers isn't doing it for him anymore,"_ Derek said from their cell. _"Now he's ready for the real thing."_

_"Garcia, we need to ID this kid so we can find the mother and warn her."_

_"Got it."_ Garcia clicked out which meant they had nothing else to do but wait for her to call back. 

Meanwhile, Derek asked Emily to call Garcia back before asking the tech analyst if anyone could hear them.

_"If by anyone, you mean 9-year-old girls getting snacks, then no. What's up?"_

"I want you to try and find Ellie's mom."

_"L.A. County couldn't find her."_

"They're not you, baby girl."

 _"They sure aren't. I'll get back to you."_ The line cut and Derek continued driving. But within minutes she called them back. " _32 kids with juvie records have been absent from school in the last 3 days. I can send police to their mothers, I can start calling houses-"_

"No, Garcia, we don't have time for trial by error, we gotta narrow it down."

"Okay, the kids at the last house said that the unsub liked to play a game," Derek recalled. "He liked tying the kids up and scaring them and he knew what he was doing."

"He used socks and belts," Emily added. "He's done it before, Garcia."

_"So you want me to look for kids who've picked on their little brothers and sisters? I'm an only child, but isn't that standard for you people with siblings?"_

"Budding psychopaths don't just pick on their siblings," Derek said. "They torture them."

_"Okay, well, none of them have assault records. Not yet, anyway."_

"Is there any way to see if any of the younger siblings have been in the emergency room in the last 6 months?" Emily asked.

_"Medical info like that is molasses-slow to get unless I... Please hold for genius. Got it. I figured a suspicious visit to the E. R. might end up in a Social Services report and it did. 10 days ago, the admitting doctor called about a Sayer family at 1365 Hunter Drive. Jeremy Sayer is a 13-year-old with a disturbingly long juvie record. Wow. His 9-year-old sister Carrie was brought to the hospital with a spiral arm fracture."_

"The kind you get from having your arm twisted behind your back too far," Emily supplied.

_"Kendra Sayer's boss said she left work already. I am trying her cell phone."_

"What do you have on Mr Sayer?"

 _"He moved to Wisconsin 3 years ago. I'm looking at the phone records right now. He hasn't contacted the family in 10 months. Also, Mrs Sayer keeps sending me to_ _voicemail_."

"Hold on, let me try," Emily offered, dialling the number as Penelope read it out and cutting the line. After another try, Mrs Sayer picked the cell up. "Hello? Mrs. Sayer, this is Agent Prentiss from the FBI. I need to talk to you about your son Jeremy."

_"I don't have a son. I--I don't know what you're talking about."_

"Mrs. Sayer, it's important that you and your daughter stay away from your home. We have reason to believe Jeremy's heading there now."

_"Oh, God. He's here. He's in the house."_

"Ma'am, do not go inside the house. We'll be there in 2 minutes."

 _"I have to go inside. He's got Carrie."_ Emily shared a hopeless look with Derek and he roared down the street, taking alleys to get there faster. Eventually, after what felt like too long, the duo pulled up to the driveway and Emily ran out, before the car had even come to a complete stop, unholstering her gun before winding up to a roundhouse that tore the door open. Derek surged inside, gun raised level to Jeremy's head and Emily pulled a screaming Mrs Sayer outside as another SUV pulled up. Piper streamed out of the SUV, taking Mrs Sayer out of Emily's hands.

"Don't do it, Jeremy," Derek yelled at the boy holding a kitchen knife to the little girl's neck. "Do you want to die?"

"You won't shoot me when mommy's little angel can get hurt," Jeremy said, bitterness sharper than the blade he held against his sister's neck.

"Yes or no?"

"I'll cut her neck open. I know how to do it." Carrie screamed. "I've practiced."

"I'm not gonna ask you again, Jeremy."

"You can't shoot a kid."

"I can shoot a killer. And I will, believe that. If that knife even twitches, I'm gonna put a bullet right through your brain." Carrie started crying.

"If I let her go-"

"There is no if," Derek yelled.

"Fine," Jeremy spat, releasing a sobbing Carrie who ran to Emily's arms. "I was only kidding, anyway."

"Turn around," Derek barked and he swapped his gun for handcuffs, pinning his hands together. Jeremy started yelling.

"Ah! Mom, he's hurting me!" She wasn't listening, having been released from Piper's grip to cling to her daughter.

"It's gonna be all right," she murmured to her child.

"Mom, I can't go by myself! Mom! Mom! Mom! Mom!"

"Settle down. Your mother's not coming," Derek spat out.

"Whatever," Jeremy said, instantly calming down. "I'm 13. I'll see her in 5 years anyway." He smirked at Derek.

"Don't count on it," Derek retorted. "I'm gonna be at every one of your parole hearings, and that's a promise. Now get in the car." He shoved Jeremy's head into the car, meeting Piper's conflicted gaze over the police car.

* * *

In the jet, Derek sat alone in the back as Hotch poured himself a cup of coffee in the opposite corner while the others sat in the center of the plane. "He would have killed Nancy Riverton anyway," Piper said, sighing deeply. "After everything she did. She managed to do what most people can't."

"She empathised with a boy who would've killed her children," Emily said, mirroring Piper's reflective tone.

"Well, the good news is that Nancy Riverton got out of surgery. She's gonna make it," Spencer said.

"She's lucky," Dave muttered. "She managed to control him long enough to save her children."

"She's impressive."

"Mrs. Sayer asked that she and her daughter be notified if and when Jeremy is released," Emily said, leaning on her left elbow.

"BAU should keep his file handy, too," Rossi said.

"The worst part is that he might never rehabilitate," Piper said, leaning her head against the headrest.

"As hard as it is to admit," Rossi said as Hotch walked past. "Sometimes there's just no way to help someone."

"Guess that means you have a date at the batting cage when we land," Emily said, punching her friend lightly in the arm.

"We could always go a few rounds," Piper smirked. "How many times have I knocked you on your ass?"

"Please, you still haven't managed to break free of my chokehold," Emily retorted and Piper laughed, murmuring a 'touché'.

"That's my cue to change the conversation. Piper is now 29. We all know what that means," Rossi said, pulling something out of his bag that Spencer recognised and Piper laughed, bowing her head for Emily to fit the bright blue birthday cake hat onto her head.

"I feel honoured," she laughed as Hotch settled into a seat opposite Derek.

"I heard Garcia found Ellie's mom."

"Yeah," Derek sighed. "She had a hard time being married to a cop, so she moved back east for a while. She travels a lot."

"You think that's a solution?" Hotch asked cryptically.

"I just don't know how she could leave that little girl."

"She probably left a bad marriage."

"Hotch, that's her child," Derek emphasised. "How does she just walk out of her life like that?"

"Maybe she didn't have any other options. Most parents try to do what's best for their kids. Maybe being with her dad in California was more stable? Her mom couldn't offer her that? Kids are adaptable, but they need somebody they can depend on. Maybe her mom can give her that now."

"How will I know?"

"You'll know," Hotch said, sitting back in his seat.

* * *

Derek slung his go-bag over his shoulder, making his way through the halls of the BAU Quantico Tactical Office, pausing as his gaze was caught on Ellie Spicer's dark bob and a taller woman standing beside her. Taking a deep breath, he walked in to the room. "Agent Morgan?" The woman asked.

"Ma'am. You weren't easy to find."

"I just got back to the States."

"So you didn't know about Matt?"

"I had no idea. I'm so sorry." Derek's gaze flitted to the little girl swinging her legs on the chair. He pulled at the earbuds, a My Chemical Romance album playing. _Piper,_ he sighed internally.

"Hey, you," he said and Ellie looked up at him with adoration. He glanced back up at the former Mrs Spicer. "Look, I get it. You and your ex-husband had your share of problems, so you separated. But how could you not be in Ellie's life?"

"I tried," she pleaded. "Matt pushed me away. Said they were better without me."

"Were they?" She sighed.

"I wasn't happy. Matt and I..." She trailed off, glancing down at her little girl. "Ellie used to walk around with the biggest frown. And I thought I had done that to her. She's angry because that's how she sees me."

"So what are you saying? You're better now?" Derek prodded her. The mother licked her lips quickly, keeping her gaze on Ellie as she reached into her bag to pull out a thick, leather-bound notebook.

"I've wondered if you'd like the places I've been. If you still took ballet. If tulips are still your favorite," she said softly, placing the book in front of her, her heart crashing as Ellie pushed it away. "Go ahead," she prompted Derek. "Look at it." Derek lifted the dense book, flipping through it.

"You wrote to her every day," Derek said, soft surprise unfolding in his tone.

"So what?" Ellie scoffed.

"Ellie-"

"She wrote to me every day. Who cares?" she asked bitterly and her mother sunk even further.

"Hey," Derek said, kneeling down next to Ellie. "This book means that your mom never stopped thinking about you. Ellie, you know that I lost my father the same way that you did. And it's really hard growing up without your dad. I miss my dad every day," he said, gazing into her welled up eyes. "But my mom, she means everything to me. I gave your dad my word that I would keep you safe. Ellie, right now you have a chance to have a really good life with your mom. Just give it a try." Ellie's small hands reached for the book, glancing at the first page before turning to her mom.

"I remember that we used to read stories together all the time. I miss that," she tried.

"Me, too. Let me show you something." Ellie's mom flipped through the page, her voice soothing as she painted pictures of oceans and dandelions and mountains and cities and Derek moved to subtly slip away until Ellie turned to him, whispering two words that eased the burden on his shoulders.

"Thank you."


End file.
